Hostel Blogs

[Hostels]

This survey is for hostels regarding the subject of hostel blogs. This poll will be open indefinitely. If there is interest, I will write an article about how to successfully implement hostel blogs.

For those readers who do not own or manage hostels, feel free to contribute opinions in this thread also.

(The poll is at the top of the page -- please scroll up if you can't see the poll.)

[Hostels]

I'm starting a list of hostels with blogs:

Self-hosted:

• Nomads World Hostels blog
• Riga hostel blog
• Jazz Hostels Blog
• J-Hoppers hostel blog
• Envoy Hostel Blog
• Travellers Inn Blog
• Kabul Hostel Blog
• Ring Hostel Blog
• Sakura Hostel Blog

Externally Hosted:

• Hostel Colonial
• Kaihu Farm's hostel blog
• Trieste Hostels Blog
• Belgrade Happy Hostel

I'll add more as I find them... Add a URL if you have a hostel blog or know of a hostel blog that I missed.

[Hostels]

Another one:
Nest Hostels Blog (Valencia) -- though this blog does not seem to be about the actual hostel

[uktrail]

I have no enthusiasm for blogs. I find them messy and either a mixture of unrelated things, or a boring 'story of my life'. They usually seem to be printed in a dull grey. And if they have flashing ads on their margins, I go away immediately.

They do not seem to have any role on a hostel webpage. A news page, yes, very much so. Descriptions of local attractions, including opinionated contributions by visitors, yes, but in a clear well-thought-out layout rather than just jotted down at random. The hostel web site should be planned clearly to include all that they have to tell, then compiled and written clearly, and the news page should describe things clearly to the person not acquainted with the background, and not be like fragments of telephone conversations with your acquaintances.

[Hostels]

They do not seem to have any role on a hostel webpage. A news page, yes, very much so. Descriptions of local attractions, including opinionated contributions by visitors, yes, but in a clear well-thought-out layout rather than just jotted down at random.

Blogs are so easy to create that the Web has become cluttered with a lot of junk blogs. There are different styles of blogs though. For best effect they shouldn't be the "random thoughts jotted down" kind of blogs. A blog page should be planned just as carefully as any page on the Web site.

A "blog" can be used to post news about the hostel, photos of events at the hostel, and things to do around the city. They are also an effective way to target new keywords for more search engine traffic.

A blog is probably the fastest way to increase traffic by 1000+ visitors per day. If blogs are done right they work on just about any type of site. I have single blog articles that instantly get over 20,000 visitors. Blogs can be a very effective marketing tool if done well...

I may be able to post some examples soon.

[uktrail]

A blog is probably the fastest way to increase traffic by 1000+ visitors per day. If blogs are done right they work on just about any type of site. I have single blog articles that instantly get over 20,000 visitors. Blogs can be a very effective marketing tool if done well...

How and why does this happen? Do you have to write something controversial and mention something topical eg "obama", "snowstorms" ? Is there something special about "blogs" that makes search engines favour them over other types of documentation? If I created a news page, what characteristics must it have to be regarded as a 'blog', or does your statement apply equally well to those?

[aboriginalhostel]

How and why does this happen? Do you have to write something controversial and mention something topical eg "obama", "snowstorms" ? Is there something special about "blogs" that makes search engines favour them over other types of documentation? If I created a news page, what characteristics must it have to be regarded as a 'blog', or does your statement apply equally well to those?

A blog is a dynamic content which is the mostly updated, extended, therefore the SE robots will find it more relevant as static, old contents. Just take it like a news website is more relevant as a newspaper, as an actual newspaper could be 12 hours fresh, while a website could be as updated as a minute.
Also keywords are very easily able to be integrated...

As a good blog should be updated, commentable, taggable and should interest visitors... We only don't have a blog because I don't have an extra staffer to put on it...

[Hostels]

How and why does this happen? Do you have to write something controversial and mention something topical eg "obama", "snowstorms" ? Is there something special about "blogs" that makes search engines favour them over other types of documentation? If I created a news page, what characteristics must it have to be regarded as a 'blog', or does your statement apply equally well to those?

The definition of a blog might be something like "an arrangement of posts/content in reverse chronological order". The most minimalistic example of a blog that I know of is this one.

Typical blogging software also has other features like the ones that aboriginalhostel mentioned:

• XML feeds (usually referred to as "RSS" though another common format is called Atom)
• tagging (categories)
• user comments
• pinging (notifying) search engines and other services
• trackbacks - automatically showing what pages reference the blog post, and sending out requests for links from other sites

The regularly updating content keeps search engines interested in your site. My hostel marketing ebook just barely scratches the surface by explaining how to connect your XML newsfeeds (RSS/Atom) to a pinging service. If done the way I mention it should have search engines updating your new content within a few minutes of posting it.

The main advantage of having a hostel blog is that the software allows for anyone to upload new content on a regular basis without having to know HTML or Web design.

Here is a screenshot of a typical blogging software's "add post" screen - it's very easy to use:



By adding new content, you can systematically target new keywords. For example, if you are in a town that has an event like a wine tasting festival and you want to get those people to stay at your hostel, you could write a blog post that targets those keywords. Keywords for each event in your region could be targeted.

You could target keywords/content about nearby areas. For example, if guests are looking for "skiing in X mountains", and your hostel is located away from that skiing area but makes a nice side trip, you could capture some search engine traffic for the "skiing keywords" and include some information about your hostel in the content or sidebar.

You could have the front desk upload photos of hostel parties, or write posts about upcoming hostel events. Those types of posts would show visitors that the hostel is a fun place. (I think that one key to a good hostel Web site is photos of smiling, good-looking people that are looking at the camera.)

(I'm going to follow up on this post with a Wiki page about hostel blogging topics.)

Another thing you can do with blogs is called "social media optimization" (SMO). It's briefly mentioned in my ebook. That is where you can get the massive avalanches of traffic. Using the social media angle also helps attract links to your blog/site which then result in higher search engine rankings for your main targeted keywords.

[Hostels]

I've updated the Hostel Blogs Wiki Page with some ideas for content in hostel blogs (scroll down on that page).

Here is a summary:

• Past event posts
• Future event posts
• Photo posts
• City attraction posts
• Travel logistics posts
• Fun posts
• Posts about guests
• Guestbook posts
• Sharing posts

Feel free to add more ideas to the list in the Wiki...

[Hostels]

I started building a new site called Hostel Blogs. It displays a continually-updated list of what hostels are writing about.

If I've missed any hostel blogs, let me know and I'll add them to Hostelblogs.com. The version online now is the "beta" launch, with more features coming soon.

If anyone is looking to create a hostel blog, let me know and I'll help set you up with one.